


SDCC 2017

by superfluffycool



Category: Outlander & Related Fandoms, Outlander (TV) RPF
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-16
Updated: 2017-09-16
Packaged: 2018-12-27 20:09:11
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,725
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12088461
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/superfluffycool/pseuds/superfluffycool
Summary: SDCC was a rough one for our favorite couple, but they got through it. It's like the song says "You always hurt the ones you love."





	1. Caitriona

This was not how SDCC was supposed to go. She and Sam were supposed to have a quick weekend of promo that teased S3, the new cast, the new locations, things like that, while squeezing in some time together before he was back to shooting his new film. But their bosses spoiled it by springing a last minute appearance for Sam's "girlfriend". It would be "great for their careers" they'd insisted. So they placed an awkward relationship denial in one of their interviews to set it up.

Caitriona thought she had made her peace with the charade but this last-minute insert enraged her. Being apart was always hard on them, and she and Sam had so little time to spend together this weekend. One of the few chances they had to relax, he'd have to escort his perennial +1. She'd begged him to say 'no', to no avail. Fuck him.

"Tell them you don't want to."  
"But she's already here."  
"She lives two hours from here."  
He stared at her blankly.  
"She doesn't have to walk on a red carpet with you just because she traveled two whole hours."  
He stood silently, consumed with something at his feet, "I've already said yes."  
"Tell them you changed your mind."  
"I said I wasn't sure I'd walk the carpet with her. I wanted to ask you first."  
Caitriona said nothing as she finished applying her makeup. She was so angry she thought she might cry, smearing the careful work she'd done. Sam was quiet and seemed to be dressing himself.  
When she finished she rose, and left their room, letting the door slam behind her.  
\------  
In the hotel bar, she met with Tobias and explained the situation over cocktails. They had almost an hour to kill before they were due on the network's party bus.  
"Fuck them all." He took a long look at her, trying to comfort her, "Fuck the lot of them. Stick with me, tonight." Caitriona choked back tears and nodded. He'd always been a good friend, with a disdain for Hollywood frippery. He was exactly the kind of person to make her feel better about this circus.  


Caitriona spent the entire bus ride scrolling on her phone and pretending Sam did not exist. He frequently tried to rope her into conversations and make eye contact with her, gesturing his beer in her direction, but she refused to make him feel better about his decision. His companion was also preoccupied with her phone, only looking up to examine her hair and makeup in the dark glass. Caitriona was filled with anger, but every time a wave of it hit her, she reminded herself where it needed to go, and it wasn't at the girl.

The few times she looked at Sam, he appeared unbearably handsome with his new haircut and a slick red leather jacket. Her own shoes were a dark red velvet to match, something they always did. Tonight was the first time she'd ever felt foolish for doing it. What was this all for anyways? It was for him. She wasn't going to benefit nearly as much as he was from being publicly single. Was his willingness to go along with it cowardice, or ambition? He looked every bit the movie star now, which led her to believe it was the latter. Fuck him.

When the bus parked, she and Tobias locked eyes, and made a beeline for the door and the carpet, not bothering to turn and check on Richard or Sophie. She'd have to apologize to them later, maybe buy them breakfast tomorrow.

The tension of the bus made way to the chaos of the carpet. It was the usual blur of flashing lights and directions "Stand there!" "Look here!" "Move down!" She relied on Tobias to guide her so she could completely tune out whatever was happening in Sam's direction. "Caitriona! Stand between your men!" She obliged, and tried to neutralize the contempt she had for this entire event from her face. "Okay, one with the whole cast, now!" Flashes and more flashes, and then they were done. She leaned in to Tobias and pretended he said something very important. In reality, he was murmuring, "Fuck them." She was usually quick to laugh at something like that, but she was still white-hot with anger.

"We have to get off of the carpet." She knew Sam was behind her, could feel his presence hovering at her back, but she wouldn't turn around. There were several things she might do--sob, attack him, or grab his newly shorn hair and stick her tongue down his throat to ruin months of plotting. She gripped Tobias' elbow, and they strode slowly and purposefully away from Sam and the cameras.

..............................

Caitriona rested her head against her hotel room door before swiping her key card. She wished that she could have her own room for the night, but the hotel was booked with actors, reporters, and publicists for the convention. Her anger had not given way to weariness quite yet, and she felt her entire body taught with fury. The party was lively, but she was so disgusted with the Hollywood machine. Everyone in that room was part of it, and she decided to leave before she said or did something to advertise her feelings. She called a cab and left 45 minutes after she'd gone in.

It was still early, but she couldn't think of anything to do except prepare for bed. When she bent down to unclasp her shoes and remembered how happy they'd been to sneak coordinated outfits on the red carpet, again, she started to sob. Her mascara ran down her face in tiny dark waterfalls. She took a quick, hot shower and removed her makeup, crying quietly throughout. When the tears ran dry, she thought of something. Of the several items she brought to wear for bed, she chose the nightdress that Sam liked best, and put it on. Maybe she'd change her mind, or he wouldn't wake her when he came in. She climbed into bed and turned off the lights, waiting for fate to decide if she'd take her revenge.


	2. Sam

Sam was so, so tired. He felt his entire life was a negotiation between what he would and would not do with his "girlfriend" publicly. The problem was a lot less stressful when his bosses were in a different hemisphere. But he was in their territory, now, and that made them harder to avoid. 

As soon as he landed in California they pounced on him to make an appearance with HER. The only time it could work was the EW party--he was due back in Budapest to finish filming immediately, and he would fly out on Monday afternoon. He and Cait were looking forward to the party as a fun date night. That wasn't going to happen, now. Oh, and she thought it was all his fault. It was embarrassing to him to be singled out for such meddling. He certainly didn't think he was the best actor in such a fine cast, but over and over he was the center of attention. He was lucky he looked the way he did. Lucky he fit the part. Beyond that, he felt inadequate to be so important.

Earlier, when Cait had left him to go God knows where, that sting of inadequacy hit him all over again. He knew it was cowardly, but he couldn't back out. These were the people who could give him more opportunities to prove himself as an actor, and expand his career outside of the show. Maybe one day he'd be powerful enough to help get projects financed. Or be able to fund more youth theater scholarships. How could anyone turn down the chance to impress such powerful people?

He stayed mostly quiet during their fight earlier. But he wasn't going to walk the carpet with HER without asking Cait if she was okay with it. He wanted her to know he wasn't making this decision entirely by himself. It was only after she stormed out of the room that he knew it was the wrong thing to say. He took a large gulp of his cocktail and looked to his right. His "girlfriend" was chatting with some young actor. Earlier, she'd been hunched over her phone updating her actual boyfriend about her trip. No, he hadn't posed on the carpet with HER, but Cait was clearly furious with him anyways. Weariness overtook him. He searched the room for her dark head, but she was no where in sight.  
\-----------  
Several hours later he shuffled into their room and found Cait already asleep. She must have left very early. Thankfully, Graham was there and he'd been able to confide in him. It was such a relief to be with an old friend and not to have to pretend to be having a good time. He'd stayed longer than he otherwise might have.

Quietly, he undressed and readied himself for bed. Cait looked so beautiful when she slept. Tonight she was wearing his favorite blue silk nightdress. She usually wore it for him, but surely that wasn't the case after the fight they'd had. He slid under the covers, shivering at the coolness of the sheets. The delicate edges of her shoulder blades peeked out over the edge of the nightdress. He didn't feel drunk, but maybe he was. It wasn't a good idea to wake her for sex tonight, but that was his logical mind talking. His other mind took the nightdress as a green light...she looked so peaceful, too. Surely she wasn't angry anymore. He inched towards her, wrapping his arm around her torso and pulling her against his bare chest. She relaxed into him, then went rigid.

He froze. She was awake, and maybe not as eager to reconcile as he thought. It was too late to pull back, now, so he forced himself to breathe as if nothing was wrong. Maybe if he continued, she'd soften. 

She sighed heavily, then relaxed again. He began to knead her breasts, and she ground her bottom into him. This went on for some time as he nibbled her ears and teased between her legs.

She rolled on top of him and squeezed his cock with her fist. He gasped. It was too dark to make out her expression, so he kissed her and fondled the soft round muscles of her buttocks. They were both panting. She sat up on top of him and let go, taking his hand. Her fingertips caressed the long lines of his finger bones and he fully expected her to guide his hand between her legs. Instead, she placed it on himself.

"Finish." Her voice was sharp and stern.

"What?"

"Finish yourself off."

"N-no. What are--." She started to climb off his legs and he sat up, grabbing her and pulling her back down. "Okay, okay..." He still couldn't quite make out her expression, but he felt her eyes on him, searing into him. This made his heart race and his cock harden. When he touched himself, he moaned from a need close to pain.

"That's a good lad." Her voice was soothing now, and she stroked his face with her thumb. He whimpered and dragged his other hand across his chest. "Mmmhmmm...just like that."

She continued her light commentary, encouraging him as he stroked himself, but not moving in any way to give herself pleasure. He was puzzled, but too preoccupied with what was happening to stop and question it. He begged, "Let me come inside you. Please. Cait."

"No, baby. You're doing so well." He whimpered and tried to stop it, but he couldn't any longer. He spilled himself into his hand, and used the other to dig into the long muscles of her thigh. 

When the last waves of his orgasm subsided, Cait freed herself from his grip to stand, plucking a tissue from the bedside table and offering it to him. He took it, but grabbed her wrist, pulling her back to the bed, "It's your turn, mo leannan."

She sat on the bed, but snapped her wrist back, "I'm too tired." She rose and went to the other side of the bed, tucked herself under the covers and turned her back, leaving him stunned.

'What the fuck just happened?' He lay there trying to understand. Hot tears sprung in his eyes. He cleaned himself with the tissue, then curled into a ball away from her. Whatever had happened, it made him feel selfish and empty. He cried, quietly at first, then slid into cathartic gasps. He nearly fell off the bed when Cait reached over and gently laid a hand on his back.

"I'm sorry." Her voice was thick with tears, and they spilled over in wrenching sounds as she repeated it, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry." When he didn't move away, she moved closer and wrapped her arms around him. She buried her face into his back, and he covered her hand with his own, still hurt, but grateful to not be alone. They cried themselves to sleep, locked in their embrace.


	3. The Next Morning

Caitriona hated seeing Sam cry, even when he was performing. The first episode of S3 nearly destroyed her when she watched it, and it was all she could do to keep herself from sobbing when a reporter brought it up the day before. 

Now, Sam lay next to her, sobbing over something she had done. The part of her that wanted to hurt him melted away and was replaced by a river of tears. She could think of nothing more important than comforting him, and reached her hand out. He jumped, but didn't move away, accepting her touch. "I'm sorry," she choked. Then she repeated it until the tears made it almost impossible to get the words out. She thought she could still hear him crying, and she moved closer to wrap her arms around him. Somehow, her touch didn't repulse him, and he placed his warm palm over her hand, her heart breaking at the generosity of it. They drifted to sleep like this, hoping that oblivion would erase the evening before it.

The next morning, they lay side by side, gazing at one another. Neither was sure who'd woken first, but the curtains were open, and their room was illuminated with the rising sun. "I'm sorry. That was cruel, what I did."

He sighed deeply, then brushed her cheek with his thumb, "I'm sorry. It was a poor idea, and I should have said 'no.'" He looked away, "It's not going to end. I'll have to keep doing things...we should talk to them together about it."

She nodded, then inched closer to him so she could rest her forehead in the crook of his neck. 

He caressed her scalp with his fingertips, and she kissed him along his collarbone. 

"I'm a wee bit hungry." He said, using the thick Scottish accent he used on the show. "Could go for some breakfast."

Caitriona looked up at him to see what he was getting at, and he answered with a smirk. He propped himself up on his elbow and pushed her flat, kissing her down the length of her torso, then parting her legs and continuing. When she was flushed from head to toe and whimpering for release, he took her and they finished together. Sam collapsed to her side and sighed, "I'm still hungry. Do you think the hotel does breakfast burritos?"

Caitriona burst into giggles, but tears sprang to her eyes. Maybe she didn't deserve his forgiveness yet, but he gave it to her because he was kind, generous, and maybe too trusting in the goodness of others. These were the things she loved so much about him, and longed to rid him of. Too many people used his good nature against him. She promised herself a long time ago that she would never be one of them. Though, he was leaving early this afternoon, they would be able to enjoy these last few hours together. Her heart was so full. "I love you."

He turned to her, a quizzical look in his eye as if to say 'I know' then leaned in to kiss her forehead and echoed her, "I love you, too."

THE END


End file.
